YES, I KNOW WE DO NOT HAVE HIM.
I was having a read of the "interesting reading but do not write about this on your test" page, and it says (and I quote):
"Such study of his [Akhenaten's] personality could never be fulfilled without noticing his characteristic physical features. His mummy, statues and reliefs were meticulously studied..."
Ah, excuse me - "his mummy"?
"His mummy?"
Ah...
The article never refers to the mummy again, but we have to wonder. "Sameh M. Arab", who is not holding a Ph D, but is, like, a literal doctor (the MD kind), wrote this. And failed. The end.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The 101 - Hat'z BabyDaddy!
According to Wikipedia, Senenmut was an architect and government official in 18th century Egypt who claimed to be the chief architect of Deir el Bahri, Hatshepsut's mortuary temple.
Strictly business?
Also according to Wikipedia, some Egyptologists believe that Hatshepsut and Senenmut were lovers. Two pieces of evidence that they use to support this are that:
1) Hatshepsut let him carve his name and likeness behind one of the doors at Djeseru-Djeseru (not sure where that is ...)
2) Some graffiti in an unfinished tomb, supposedly a rest house for workers, depicting a man and hermaphrodite pharaoh having 'intimate relations'.
Apart from these two, Wikipedia says that Hatshepsut seemed to have favoured the construction of Senenmut's tomb.
Was Senenmut a spunk?
Patricia O'Neill is a historical fiction writer who seems to have expended an inordinate amount of time pondering this very question.
In other news ...
These are statues of Neferure, Hatshepsut's daughter, with Senenmut, who was her tutor. Of the twenty or more so statues found of Senenmut, eight of them show Senenmut and Neferure together ... I'm not really sure why.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Media and communication in Ancient Egypt
This was another one of Ms O'Neill's homework questions ...
How did people in Ancient Egypt get information around?
Newspapers?
The first Egyptian newspaper began in 1828, so there weren't any newspapers (or more appropriately, newspapyruses) in Hatshepsut's time. Instead, heralds would give oral reports to pharaohs and town criers would make important announcements in public areas.
A papyrus scroll
Pigeon post
The first known use of pigeons as couriers was in Egypt, where incoming ships of important people would release pigeons to announce their arrival.
This is 'Cher Ami',a celebrated carrier pigeon from World War 1. Carrier pigeons can actually carry up to 75g when they're trained.
Scribes
It was most commonly males who became scribes. After being educated at a scribe school, their skill was used in various civic activities, from recording the yields of harveset to writing protective spells on the walls of the pharaoh's tomb. Military leaders like Thutmosis III would have been initially trained as scribes so that they could read messages sent to them. In the government, scribes recorded taxes and could be promoted to government officials. In the religious sphere, priests were scribes so that they could read instructions for sacred rituals.
Here's the equipment used for carving wall reliefs
Sources:
http://www.egyptgiftshop.com/egyptguide/egyptian_newspapers.html
http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/archive/PigeonPost.html
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/explore/main.html
How did people in Ancient Egypt get information around?
Newspapers?
The first Egyptian newspaper began in 1828, so there weren't any newspapers (or more appropriately, newspapyruses) in Hatshepsut's time. Instead, heralds would give oral reports to pharaohs and town criers would make important announcements in public areas.
A papyrus scroll
Pigeon post
The first known use of pigeons as couriers was in Egypt, where incoming ships of important people would release pigeons to announce their arrival.
This is 'Cher Ami',a celebrated carrier pigeon from World War 1. Carrier pigeons can actually carry up to 75g when they're trained.
Scribes
It was most commonly males who became scribes. After being educated at a scribe school, their skill was used in various civic activities, from recording the yields of harveset to writing protective spells on the walls of the pharaoh's tomb. Military leaders like Thutmosis III would have been initially trained as scribes so that they could read messages sent to them. In the government, scribes recorded taxes and could be promoted to government officials. In the religious sphere, priests were scribes so that they could read instructions for sacred rituals.
Here's the equipment used for carving wall reliefs
Sources:
http://www.egyptgiftshop.com/egyptguide/egyptian_newspapers.html
http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/archive/PigeonPost.html
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/explore/main.html
Monday, October 11, 2010
Hatshepsut Question
Did Hatshepsut have to legitimate her throne to overcompensate for her being a female pharaoh?
The Hatshesput DVD that we watched at the start of the unit emphasised that the Egyptian theology (i.e. Ma'at) found female pharaohs to be an aberration to the cosmic order. In light of this, the documentary attributes her need to dress and depict herself as a male to maintain her power in a patriarchal society. The defacement of Hatshepsut's likeness after her death is also attributed to her disruption of the natural order.
However Gae Callender, an eminent Egyptologist, is wary of solidifying any hypothesis for the defacement of Hatshepsut's images after her death. In her article "A Critical Examination of the Reign of Hatshepsut", she addresses the ambiguity surrounding the accession of female pharaohs in particular to the throne. However, in light of the little evidence that is available, she concludes that there were "no legal impediment[s] to Hatshepsut's rule" - rather, she says, an edict passed in the Second Dynasty decreed that women could be recognised as legitimate monarchs. She points out that two queens had ruled prior to Hatshepsut, and had ascended the throne under the same conditions as Hatshepsut had done - upon the death of the pharaoh/ brother. She doesn't believe that there is substantial evidence to conclude that people did not approve of her because of her gender.
The Hatshesput DVD that we watched at the start of the unit emphasised that the Egyptian theology (i.e. Ma'at) found female pharaohs to be an aberration to the cosmic order. In light of this, the documentary attributes her need to dress and depict herself as a male to maintain her power in a patriarchal society. The defacement of Hatshepsut's likeness after her death is also attributed to her disruption of the natural order.
However Gae Callender, an eminent Egyptologist, is wary of solidifying any hypothesis for the defacement of Hatshepsut's images after her death. In her article "A Critical Examination of the Reign of Hatshepsut", she addresses the ambiguity surrounding the accession of female pharaohs in particular to the throne. However, in light of the little evidence that is available, she concludes that there were "no legal impediment[s] to Hatshepsut's rule" - rather, she says, an edict passed in the Second Dynasty decreed that women could be recognised as legitimate monarchs. She points out that two queens had ruled prior to Hatshepsut, and had ascended the throne under the same conditions as Hatshepsut had done - upon the death of the pharaoh/ brother. She doesn't believe that there is substantial evidence to conclude that people did not approve of her because of her gender.
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Priests of Amun
Today at parent-teacher interviews, I was lucky enough to get Ancient History homework. I was not entirely sure whether I should take it seriously or not, then, realising I had Ms. O'Neill as a teacher, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
So, here is some information regarding the Priests of Amun from the text Antiquity 2:
The elevated status of the Amun priesthood in the early 18th Dynasty reflected the position of the
Amun cult as state cult of the new dynasty. The high priests of the Amun cult were appointed by the
pharaoh. This provided a means for the pharaoh to connect his family with Amun, as in the case of
Ahmose’s purchase of the ‘second prophet of Amun’ priesthood for his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari. It also
contributed to a growing interdependence between king and Amun priesthood.
The high-ranking priests—the first, second, third and fourth ‘prophets of Amun’—exercised
significant political and economic, as well as religious, power. This power appears to have increased
in direct proportion to the increasing wealth derived from military conquest, subsequently directed
to the Amun cult. It is possible that by the beginning of the reign of the young Thutmose III, the
Amun priesthood was powerful enough to play ‘kingmaker’. They supported Hatshepsut in her claim
to the throne, enabling her to take the unusual step of assuming the kingship herself.
The power of the ‘first prophet of Amun’ was significantly increased when he also held the title
‘overseer of prophets of Upper and Lower Egypt’. This gave him authority over all other religious
cults. Such a man was Hapuseneb, who held both titles in the reign of Hatshepsut. As one of
Hatshepsut’s most important officials, he was responsible for her building works at Karnak. Other
high priests of the Amun cult combined this role with other official duties that increased their
influence. Menkheperraseneb, ‘first prophet of Amun’ under Thutmose III, was a new appointee, not
inherited from Hatshepsut’s reign. He combined his priestly role with those of chief architect and
‘overseer of the houses of gold and silver’ or treasurer. He thus carried out both secular and religious
duties. Menkheperraseneb was able to pass his office briefly to his nephew before the role was taken
on by Amenemhet, the last high priest of Amun in Thutmose III’s reign.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
New statue of Akhenaten's dad found yesterday!
I was hanging out at Dr Zahi Hawass' website, www.drhawass.com - you might remember him as the super enthusiastic egyptologist who was in the Hatshepsut dvd we watched last term.
The granite statue is in the process of being uncovered, and depicts Amenhotep III (Akhenaten's father) wearing the double crown, seated on a throne alongside the god Amun.
I was under the impression that Egyptian artifacts were rarely discovered, but according to Dr Hawass we know a lot about Amenhotep III thanks to the "overwhelming amount of statuary" that has been uncovered, generally featuring the pharaoh seated with other deities such as Bastet, Sobek and Thoth.
The newly found statue in the process of being uncovered.
In other news, Dr Hawass' website is worth a look- he's got his own fan club and everything, which I think is really cute. As the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, he's quite authoritative on the field and writes articles about what's hip and happening in the world of Egyptology.
Slightly more relevant than Akhenaten's dad to our study is this article http://www.drhawass.com/events/quest-hatshepsut-discovering-mummy-egypts-greatest-female-pharaoh where he writes about his 'Quest for Hatshepsut'. His penchant for narrative comes across strongly here as it did in the dvd, although this story-like structure makes for an engaging read that would do well to raise awareness and increase interest in Egyptology. Plus it's illustrated with plenty of full-colour photos!
A image from Dr Hawass' article, "The Quest for Hatshepsut"
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